I’m taking a one-way ticket to 2015. No return ticket. No backward. Only left, right, and center.

I hear strange voices calling, telling me not to risk my neck. Playing safe is better than risking to be sorry, they say. A sweet lullaby they are singing to me to lull me into false security. But my inner voice tells me if I stop now, I’ll forever wonder what might have been. So forward I go. No looking back. The strange voices droning in the background.

The path would be treacherous, so I need weapons.

Determination. A weapon that keeps the calloused feet resilient and moving despite trudging between patches of light and darkness. Amidst bad weather. In the midst of a hundred foes. It allows the user to keep his strides at a steady pace despite a slight limp. This is something I could definitely use along the unwinding road.

Alternately, I could use the Faith. A lot more powerful than determination, but with its power comes a great need of mana. The user only has to send prayers to the maker when his mana runs out. This requires concentration and meditation. I don’t know what obstacles lie in wait for me, so I’m stocking up on mana as early as now. With my eyes closed.

My bag is getting heavier, and there’s only enough room for one more weapon. I choose the shield of Love. People always say it’s the greatest of them all. Perhaps the rumors are true because it’s a tool one could not easily purchase from any blacksmith. It is something endowed only to the deserving, like the Excalibur of King Arthur. A very special tool that only those with pure heart can equip. Invincible as it is, it transforms bad forces to good karma at the user’s advantage. My soul’s health is preserved for as long as I have love.

All geared up now, this is the part where the warrior yells his battle cry.